Odds & Ends: Magic, Smith, Haywood, Humphries
This year's amnesty period kicks off on Wednesday and this afternoon Larry Coon of ESPN.com (Insider sub. req'd) ran down his candidates for each of the 23 teams that did not use the provision last year. Among the most likely to go are Mike Miller of the Heat and Darko Milicic of the T'Wolves. After that, there are a number of "jump ball" candidates such as the Mavs' Brendan Haywood. The waiving of Haywood once seemed like a foregone conclusion but after striking out on Deron Williams, Dallas is no longer starved for cap room. Here's more from around the Association..
Blazers Notes: Leonard, Batum, Barton
Earlier today, Portland General Manager Neil Olshey disclosed that he plans to move from the free agent market to the trade market as it appears that Roy Hibbert will be staying put in Indiana. Here's more on the Blazers..
Knicks Acquire Marcus Camby Via Sign-And-Trade
WEDNESDAY, 1:44pm: The Knicks and Rockets have officially completed the sign-and-trade that will send Camby to New York, the Knicks announced in a press release.
MONDAY, 6:47pm: The Knicks will acquire Marcus Camby from the Rockets via sign-and-trade in a deal sending Toney Douglas, Josh Harrellson, Jerome Jordan, and draft picks, sources told Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Camby's deal will be a three-year pact worth $13.2MM with the final year partially guaranteed, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter links). The big man will make $10MM in the first two seasons and $3.2MM in the final year, if he stays on.
Knicks Notes: Martin, Foye, Camby, Kidd
Marcus Camby met with the Knicks yesterday and word is that the pow-wow was "very positive," for both sides. The veteran reportedly feels comfortable with the club in part because of his relationship with General Manager Glen Grunwald. Here's the latest out of Madison Square Garden…
- According to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (via Twitter), there were preliminary discussions about a three-team deal that would have sent Kenyon Martin to the Knicks, but those talks have since cooled.
Earlier updates:
Free Agent Rumors: Lucas, Camby, Lewis
Jeff Green reached an agreement to remain with the Celtics on Saturday, while Aaron Brooks became an unrestricted free agent after the Suns withdrew their qualifying offer to the guard. What will Sunday bring? Here are the latest rumors on a number of free agents still on the market:
- The Heat have interest in unrestricted free agent point guard John Lucas III, reports Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com.
- Marcus Camby's meeting with the Knicks today was "very positive," a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com, and Zwerling hears that Camby is drawn to the Knicks because of his "great relationship" with GM Glen Grunwald.
- "Everything went well" during the Heat's meeting with Rashard Lewis today, as Lewis' agent tells David Aldridge of TNT (Twitter link). Lewis has yet to make a decision, with the Knicks and Hawks still in the running, Aldridge says.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Hinrich, Bulls, Meeks, Mayo, Tolliver
- Ersan Ilyasova plans to meet with Bucks owner Herb Kohl on Tuesday, which is seen as an important opportunity in the team's effort to retain the 6'10'' forward (Gery Woelfel of the Journal Times reports). Earlier this week, we reported that Milwaukee offered a deal worth around $40MM over five years.
Latest On Marcus Camby
7:31pm: Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated tweets that the Heat are not interested in including Joel Anthony or Norris Cole in any sign-and-trade deals. Also, Rashard Lewis appears to be their number one target (Twitter link), thus making Camby less of a priority right now.
5:08pm: Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston reports that the Rockets are willing to work out a sign-and-trade with any team, not just the Heat or the Knicks.
4:50pm: Jared Zwerling of ESPN.com notes via Twitter that Camby's meeting with the Heat, originally scheduled for this morning, was postponed, not canceled.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Saturday
There wasn't much movement on the Dwight Howard talks yesterday but the Nets, Lakers, Hawks, Mavericks, and Rockets are all still in play for the Magic star. Of course, four of those teams could have pause about trading for Howard as he says that he won't agree to an extension with any club other than Brooklyn. We'll keep track of the latest Howard rumors in this post..
- Ken Berger of CBS Sports writes that the Rockets continue to have their eye on Dwight and are continuously exploring ways in which they can acquire draft picks and cap space. After dealing Kyle Lowry to the Raptors for a future first-round pick this past week, it is understood that Houston is engaging in sign-and-trade talks involving Marcus Camby under the premise of accumulating more draft picks, which could later be used to sweeten a trade offer to the Magic.
Knicks Notes: Camby, Prigioni, Jeffries
The Knicks will meet with free agent center Marcus Camby in the next few days, but a source told Marc Berman of the New York Post that it won't be in New York. The get-together will likely take place in Las Vegas as coach Mike Woodson is already there with assistant GM Allan Houston for the U.S. Olympic Team practices. More out of MSG..
Atlantic Notes: Allen, Celtics, Williams, Brand
Earlier this evening, Celtics fans were disappointed to learn that sharpshooter Ray Allen has opted to leave the C's for the Heat. The shooting guard turned down what was reportedly a two-year, $12MM offer to stay in Boston in favor of a three-year deal worth just over $9MM.
Chris Forsberg of ESPNBoston.com writes that the loss of Allen is effectively a double-whammy for the C's as they cannot easily turn around and sign a similar player to offset the loss. This is because the Celtics only have the bi-annual exception available to lure a player in. Boston may also bring back swingman Mickael Pietrus, but for now it would seem that they'll have to bank on quality production and perimter shooting from Jason Terry to fill the gap. Here's more out of the Atlantic..